Air outlet and deflection vanes



April 7, 1964 c. E. HORNECK 3,127,826

.AIR OUTLET AND DEFLECTION VANES Filed Oct. 30, 1961 26 A T-fz/ K -24 Egg /22 INVENTOR. CARL E. HORNECK BY 5M 0 w;

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,127,826 AIR OUTLET AND DEFLECTION VANES Carl E. Horneck, Moline, IlL, assignor to American Air Filter Company, Inc., Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 148,640

6 Claims. (CI. 98-40) This invention relates to air outlets and deflecting vanes therefor.

In the manufacture of vaned air outlets for unit heaters and such, the space between the opposite frame members between which the vanes are mounted is sometimes slightly too small to easily accommodate the vanes therebetween. While the vanes may be forced into position and then secured, it is usually diflicult to later adjust them because of the binding relationship between the ends of the vanes and respective frame members. Conversely, sometimes the space between the opposite frame members is somewhat greater than the length of the vanes so that the flanges on the ends of the vanes must be bent, twisted, or otherwise deform in securing the vanes to the members.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved vaned outlet construction which substantially avoids the foregoing difliculties.

In accordance with my invention, I minimize these difficulties by providing an end flange construction on the vane including a yieldable portion encompassing the fastening location of the flange. In one embodiment I provide a slot in the end flange between the mounting hole in the flange and the vane body so that the portion of the flange encompassing the mounting hole is unconnected along its upper edge to the vane body and may be readily displaced outwardly as a whole when the flange is secured to the frame member. Thus the displaced portion of the flange is fastened in facing contact to the frame member with the displaced portion as a whole lying in a plane immediately adjacent the frame member. It will be appreciated that the dimensional allowance of the vanes and the frame members is so established that the minimum space between the opposite frame members is at least as great as the maximum length of the frame members so that in a normal assembly operation of the vanes to the frame members, the displaceable portion of the end flange on one or both ends of the vane is displaced outwardly.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of the unit heater;

FIGURE 2 is a side View thereof;

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view of a portion of one vane;

FIGURE 4 is a partly broken, fragmentary face view of a single vane in secured relation between the frame members and adjusted to a position wherein it is closed to air flow; and,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 4.

In FIGURES 1 and 2 a horizontal discharge unit heater is shown. It includes a cabinet 2 containing a heat exchanger (not shown) through which air is propelled from rear to front by a fan-motor assembly 4 mounted on the rear side of the cabinet. The tempered air exits through the cabinet front outlet opening 6 defined on opposite sides by the vertical members 8. The spaced air directing vanes 10 are positioned within the outlet opening to direct the air flow outwardly or downwardly as desired.

Each of the horizontally extending vanes 10 includes, as shown in FIGURES 35, a slightly curved body portion 12, and a right angle end flange 14 at each end. A

3,127,826 Patented Apr. 7, 1964 hole 16 is provided in the rear portion of the flange and a slot 18 extends forwardly from the rear edge of the flange between the hole 16 and the vane body as best illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 5 to provide a flange portion 20 which is unconnected along its upper edge to the vane body so that it may be readily bent or displaced outwardly from the plane in which the remainder of the flange lies.

The vanes 12 are mounted within the discharge opening 6 by screws 22 (FIGURES 4 and 5) or other fasteners which extend through hole 16 and into registering holes 24 in the vertical members 8. Preferably a washer 26 of neoprene, rubber or a like resilient material is used between the head of the fastener and the yieldable portion 20 of the flange. The fastener is tightened sufliciently that the yieldable portion 20 is shifted outwardly until it is in face-to-face contact with the frame member and the washer is compressed to a degree that the vane will normally retain an adjusted position but may be readjusted to another deflection position without undue force be ing required.

It is desirable that the flange construction be such that the portion encompassing the mounting hole can be offset substantially as a whole. Thus it is preferable that the offsetting break in the flange occur generally in that area near the forward end of the slot. To this end, the edge contour of the flange is such that, taken with the disposition of the slot, the width of the yieldable portion of the flange near the forward end of the slot is less than throughout the remainder of the yieldable portion. It will be appreciated that the same result, i.e., having the offsetting break occur sufficiently forward of the mounting hole, may be attained in other ways such as by providing a notch in the flange edge or slot edge near the end of the slot. It is necessary however that there be a sufficient width of flange at the break that the metal does not buckle in that area when the vane is adjusted.

By virtue of the described construction, securing the vanes to the frame members is facilitated in that when the length of the vane is slightly less than the spacing between frame members, the yieldable portion 2b is readily displaced outwardly by turning in the fastener. The mounting hole area of the flange is thus displaced uniformly and contacts the frame member surface so that the twisting of that area encountered with the prior art vanes is avoided. It will be appreciated that in the dimensioning of the vanes and the spacing between frame members a slight positive allowance is preferably established so that the problem of end binding is avoided.

While the invention has been described in connection with a horizontal discharge unit heater having horizontally extending air deflecting vanes, it will be appreciated that it is equally applicable to other vaned outlets having vanes in one disposition or another.

I claim:

1. An air deflecting vane comprising a vane main body, and opposite right angle end flanges thereon adapted to be pivotally secured to correspondingly opposite frame members, each end flange including a forward portion thereof connected along its upper edge to said vane main body, and a rearward portion encompassing the securement location being unconnected to said vane main body except through said forward portion, said rearward portion being displaced outwardly as a whole into facing contact with the respective frame member for secure ment thereto.

2. An air deflecting vane adapted to be adjustably positioned within an air outlet opening comprising a main body portion, and a right angle flange at each end thereof having a length substantially co-extensive with the width of said main body portion, each of said flanges including a rearward portion encompassing a mounting hole, said rearward portion being unconnected to said main body except through the forward portion of said flange, said rearward portion being displaced outwardly as a whole into uniform facing contact with the member to which said flange is to be secured.

3. An air directing vane having a main body portion, and right angle end flanges thereon including a mounting hole in each end flange near one end thereof, those portions of said end flanges containing said mounting holes being unconnected to said main body portion except through the remaining portions of said end flanges, at least one of said end flange mounting hole portions being displaced outwardly into a plane parallel to the plane in which said remaining portion of siad end flange lies.

4. In combination, means defining an air passage opening including a pair of opposite members to which the respective opposite ends of air deflecting vanes are to be secured, an air deflecting vane having a length slightly less than the space between said opposite members, said vane including a main body portion and right angle end flanges adapted to be pivotally secured to said opposite members, the portion of each end flange encompassing the securement location being connected to said vane main body only through the connection of the securement location portion to the remaining portion of said end flange, and further being displaced outwardly into a plane parallel to the plane in which said remaining portion of said end flange lies.

5. An air directing vane having a body main portion, and right angle end flanges thereon, each end flange having a mounting location portion adjacent an end thereof separated from said main body by slot means between said mounting location portion and said main body so that said mounting location portion is unconnected to said main body except through the remaining portion of said end flange, said mounting location portion being displaced outwardly substantially as a whole when said vane is mounted.

6. The air directing vane of claim 5 wherein: the width of each of said flanges in the area adjacent the inner end of said slot is less than the width of the remainder of said mounting location portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,238,703 Wendelken Aug. 28, 1917 1,356,428 Camman Oct. 19, 1920 1,368,453 Ream Feb. 15, 1921. 2,359,289 Brown Oct. 3, 1944 2,375,176 Huif May 1, 1945 2,954,728 Smith Oct. 4, 1960 

1. AN AIR DEFECTING VANE COMPRISING A VANE MAIN BODY, AND OPPOSITE RIGHT ANGLE END FLANGES THEREON ADAPTED TO BE PIVOTALLY SECURED TO CORRESPONDINGLY OPPOSITE FRAME MEMBERS, EACH END FLANGE INCLUDING A FORWARD PORTION THEREOF CONNECTED ALONG ITS UPPER EDGE TO SAID VANE MAIN BODY, AND A REARWARD PORTION ENCOMPASSING THE SECUREMENT LOCATION BEING UNCONNECTED TO SAID VANE MAIN BODY EXCEPT THROUGH SAID FORWARD PORTION, SAID REARWARD PORTION BEING DISPLACED OUTWARDLY AS A WHOLE INTO FACING CONTACT WITH THE RESPECTIVE FRAME MEMBER FOR SECUREMENT THERETO. 